Post navigation

The Old Jewish Cemetery – Prague

The Old Jewish Cemetery was established in Josefov, Prague’s former Jewish ghetto in the fifteenth century. The oldest tombstone dates back to 1439 and marks the grave of the poet Avigdor Kara. I was left in awe at the number of tombstones on such a small area of land. There are about 12,000 tombstones and an estimated 100,000 burials. Since space was at a premium, bodies were buried on top of each other. It is estimated the graves are layered about 12 deep.
Many prominent people are buried in this cemetery, including: Rabbi Loew who is associated with the legend of the golem, the mayor of the Jewish Town Mordechai Maisel, the Renaissance scholar, historian, mathematician and astronomer David Gans, scholar and historian Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, and rabbi and collector of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books David Oppenheim.